Do I really need to use JD Hy-Gard fluid?

PCABE5 · Oct 8, 2011

Oil almost needs to go in a politics thread.

I used Cenex brand in my 2320 for 4 years without any issues. With an infrared reader the JD low-vis runs hotter than the regular JD oil. Heat is always an enemy.

jd110 · Oct 8, 2011

greg_g said:
From the John Deere website:
Hy-Gard may be used when the following oils are specified:
AGCO Massey Ferguson: M-1135, M-1141, M1143, M-1139
AGCO White Farm: Q-1722, Q-1766, Q-1766B, Q-1802, Q-1826
Allis-Chalmers, Deutz-Allis, AGCO-Allis: Power Fluid 821XL
Case: MS-1207, MS-1209, MS-1210
Caterpillar: TO-2
Clark: MS-68
John Deere: All Weather Hydrostatic Fluid (JDMJ21A)
Deutz: Transmission-Hydraulic Fluid
Dresser: Transmission-Hydraulic Fluid (HMS B806-0002)
Eaton Hydraulics Div: Hyd. Transmission (Form 3-401-123)
Ford/New Holland: ESN-M2C41-B, M2C134-D, M2C48-B, M2C48-C, M2C86-C, FNHA-2C-200, FNHA-2C-201
IHC: B-6
Kubota: UDT Hydraulic/Transmission Fluid
Oliver: Type 55
Sundstrand: Hydrostatic Transmission
Zetor: OT-H, GL-4
ZF: Te-ML03E, 06D, 06E

So if Hy-Gard is ok to use in these applications, turn-about is fair play. But it's really only a matter of reading the label to see if the fluid meets or exceeds the JD720 spec. If your tractor takes regular Hy-Gard, that's JD720C. If it takes low viscosity Hy-Gard it's JD720D

//greg//

This info on JD's website means that JD HyGard meets or exceeds the specs for the other oils. That does not mean they meet JD's specs. My opinion is that for short term use, most of these oils would probably be acceptable in a pinch, but continued use over long term could significantly reduce the life of some of the tractor systems, particularly wet brakes and clutches.